Artist: SagaTale
I’ve spoken at length recently about my elitist tendencies, about how I love nothing more than to trek off the beaten path in order to hunt down the more “exotic” anime, the kind of anime that pays no heed to current trends or tropes, but instead does its own weird and wonderful thing. Not only that, but to then pat myself on the back in regards to my overwhelmingly superior taste in shows. Whilst this tendency does run the risk of alienating other anime fans (understandable, given that it does make me out to be quite the toad), it does have the advantage of giving me the opportunity to unearth hidden gems, older shows buried beneath a mountain of newer, shinier anime, using my platform as a blogger. This is something that I discovered quite recently upon reviewing one such show: Gankutsuou.
Whilst reader response to this review couldn’t be considered overwhelming by any stretch of the imagination (my posts still receive relatively few views and comments each), the few comments that it did receive kind of blew me away! Raistlin wrote: “I didn’t even know that there was an anime adaptation [of The Count of Monte Cristo] until I read this post. […] This one really sounds interesting […] I hope to check it out one day.” Irina echoed similar sentiments: “I’ve never heard of this and it looks sooo cool!”
These two comments gave me more satisfaction than any other acknowledgement of my writing I’ve ever received! Even more than “Wow, Ty, you’re such a fantastic writer! It’s almost as if you’re Shakespeare incarnate!”. Ha, ha, ha, I’m joking! Nobody’s ever said that to me! *stifles a sob* Anyway, when given time to reflect on why that might be I concluded that it’s because, more than wanting the approval of a great number of people, I want to use what little influence I do have to raise awareness of shows that, through no fault of their own, have slipped through the cracks over the years.
The amount of anime that is released every season only ever seems to increase. As bloggers, it’s easy to feel compelled to keep up-to-date with all of these shows, in order to remain part of the conversation, to stay relevant. However, as a result, you might find yourself, not just neglecting to watch older, more obscure anime, but remaining blissfully unaware of their very existence.
That’s why, going forward into next year I want to make it my goal to review more of these lesser known, but no less brilliant for it, anime. I want to continue to unearth those hidden gems and, in doing so, bring them to the surface of the anime fandom’s collective consciousness. How’s that for a new year’s resolution?
Watashi Wa Bucho!! 
I think it’s awesome that you write about the old and unknown. I wouldn’t find some anime unless someone else writes about them. All you hear about is either the seasonal stuff or perhaps stuff that is already known, like EVA or the likes. So I look forward to more posts about obscure anime.